At a Glance:
- MSRP: From $79,295
- Towing capacity: Up to 21 city / 27 highway
- Horsepower: 7,300 to 7,500 lbs
- Cargo volume: 42.9 ft³, 126.6 ft³ with seat area
- Seating capacity: 7, 8
- MPG: Up to 21 city / 27 highway
- Engine: 3.0 L 6-cylinder diesel, 6.2 L V8
The Escalade ESV offers 100% of the tech, safety, style, and comfort any luxury SUV shopper could ask for. Our only minor complaints are its poor gas mileage, which is substandard even for its large vehicle class, and its corresponding bulk that takes some getting used to for drivers familiar with smaller SUV styles.
Interior
ESV stands for “Escalade Stretch Vehicle,” which means that it’s, well, bigger than a standard Escalade. Both wheelbase and length gain more than a foot in the ESV version, which translates to more overall passenger legroom and approximately 50 additional cubic feet of cabin space.
Fit and finish on the Escalade is immaculate and tailored. From the sumptuous leather down to the crafted door panels and warm interior LED lighting, the immediate impression is one of a curated and tasteful design that is also functional.
However, the most eye-catching interior feature of this Escalade is the wondrous 38-inch curved OLED dash display that presents gauges, infotainment, apps, and other features both beautifully and fluidly. With a pixel density twice the level of your 4K TV, the hues are perfectly rendered and easy to read. Likewise, the fully digital nature of the screen allows drivers to quickly customize the layout of the gauge cluster. Don’t try this on your grandad’s Caddy!
Exterior
It’s no slight against Cadillac to point out that ever since non-luxury brands like Chevrolet and Hyundai have stepped up their exterior design game, the beauty contest between $50K SUVs and $80K ones has grown much more competitive. Take a look at the Escalade’s gorgeous cousin, the redesigned Chevy Suburban, to see what we’re talking about. In this atmosphere, it’s a notable feat that the Escalade still holds its own against the posh Europeans, not to mention these hungry mid-tier models, to retain its crown as the queen (looks-wise) of SUVs.
The ESV has some minor differences in fascia and exhaust pipe width, but it shares the same handsome characteristics of the Escalade line, which enjoyed a successful refresh in 2021. Sleek and expensive looking, the vehicle stuns with modern lines and a simplified, but somehow more elegant, grille.
Features
The Escalade comes in five trim flavors, but we’re happy to say that even at the tier 1 “Luxury” level, Cadillac didn’t skimp on rich tech and safety features. Included on all Escalades:
- LED daytime running lamps
- Rainsense wipers
- Cadillac Smart System
- Front pedestrian braking
- Automatic emergency braking
- Forward collision alert
- Safety alert seat
- Rear seat reminder
- Rear park assist
- HD rear vision camera
- Teen driver technology
- Vehicle diagnostics
- Front park assist
- Rear pedestrian alert
- Lane keep assist with lane departure warning
- HD surround vision
- Curved OLED with 38 inches of total diagonal display
- AKG® Studio 19-speaker audio system
- Wireless Apple CarPlay®/Android Auto™
- Built-in Amazon Alexa capability
- Conversation enhancement
- Wireless charging
- Augmented reality-enabled navigation
- Inteluxe seats with Linear Tiger Wood trim
- Heated 12-way power front seats with power lumbar control
- Memory settings, includes two presets for driver’s seat adjuster, outside mirrors, and power tilt/telescoping steering column
- Heated steering wheel
- Selectable ambient interior lighting
Moving up, Cadillac offers a Premium Luxury edition that includes massaging front seats with 16-way power adjust, a 36 speaker AKG audio system, heated steering wheel, self-parking, adaptive cruise control, a full-color head-up display, soft-close doors, and semi-aniline leather that helps retain the hide’s natural appearance. It also throws in enhanced safety features such as lane change alert with side blind zone alert, rear cross traffic alert, enhanced automatic emergency braking, reverse automatic braking, and automatic seat belt tightening.
Also standard on the Premium Luxury edition, and all other trims except for Luxury, is GM’s semi-autonomous driving system Supercruise. That feature synthesizes data from the vehicle’s cameras, LiDAR mapping, GPS information, and radar sensors to automatically steer and brake during highway driving.
Both Sport and Sport Platinum trims add primarily exterior enhancements such as trim, paint finish, and better rims.
Unique to the top-tier Premium Luxury Platinum Escalade is a touring package that features air ride adaptive suspension, a rear seat entertainment system with 12.6-inch dual screens, interior leather accents, and a special exterior grille and paint finish.
Power & Handling
While its large dimensions take some getting used to, the Escalade is so loaded with driver assist features that you’re playing poker with pocket aces. Handling is refined and comfortable and the standard 6.2L, 420 horsepower V8 is suitable for all purposes we could imagine. With 460 lb.-ft. of torque, the V8 offers confident and smooth gear transitions with minimum strain even when towing.
Cadillac offers a Duramax® 277-hp 3.0-liter turbodiesel-6 that does slightly edge out the V8 on gas mileage, but will cost you on horsepower.
Final Thought
You will pay a price for this level of expertly blended technology and sophistication, but consider this. Shoppers looking at middle range SUVs often end up tacking on thousands of dollars to their final price once package options and dealer persuasion take hold. Why not start at the top with a luxury brand that delivers premium features and get those upgrades as part of Cadillac’s bundled features…without touching sticker price?
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